Utility meters are generally used by utility providers, e.g. water, gas, and electric companies, to accurately bill consuming entities, i.e., a home or an office building based on their rate of consumption. Such meters are typically disposed between a consuming entity (hereinafter “customer”) and a source of a metered resource (also referred to herein as “utility”)—such as a home and an overhead power line. When a utility is consumed, the meter samples a rate at which the utility flows and formats this rate into a billable unit of measurement. For example, electricity consumption is typically measured in kilowatt hours (1000 watt hours), gas consumption is typically measured in therms (energy equivalent of burning 100 ft3 of gas), and water consumption is typically measured in gallons or liters, where each is billed to the customer at a particular rate. Utility providers retrieve these measurements through employees that physically visit and read the meter or, more recently, by electronically receiving such information from the meter over telephone/internet communication lines.
As new technologies emerge, the provision of utilities and the consumption thereof is becoming increasingly complex. For example, with respect to energy utility, solar panels, upon nightfall, decrease their energy output, thereby decreasing a total amount of energy that is available in an energy grid to which they are attached. In another example, energy output of wind turbines is highly volatile due to the number of factors that influence wind direction and strength, which further contributes to fluctuations in the power grid. These inconsistencies, when combined with average increases in population and usage of electrical devices, results in a highly complex energy system.
As a result, a highly complex pricing model has emerged for individual and business customers. For example, prices of utilities are known to be updated in as little as fifteen minute intervals based on a plurality of parameters including, for example, local/total availability, local/total demand, time of day, day of week, and/or month of year. Consequently, it has become difficult for customers to track their usage and/or anticipate their utility bills. Moreover, meters are often located in areas that are inconvenient or dangerous for customers to access. Furthermore, usage statistics are often indicated in an unintuitive manner on the meter (i.e., using multiple physical dials), making it difficult for the customer to determine their overall usage.